by NB VanYoos
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Tyler couldn’t decide the best way to start looking for Earth. The task remained daunting despite his newfound abilities. He knew there were millions and millions of galaxies with millions and millions of planets and stars, so where did one start when looking for a solitary planet? It was humbling, and with no defined boundaries in any direction, where could he start and where could he end? How would he know if he backtracked? With his new memory, he thought he might at least recognize somewhere he’d already been.
He randomly chose a direction and began surveying the galaxies along that path. He easily dismissed many of them since he was certain the Milky Way was a spiral galaxy with arms. He’d remembered as much from watching the science channel with Linda. Considering his usual state of euphoria on Earth, he wasn’t certain whether he’d seen the Milky Way or some galaxy next door. However, it was something to hold onto despite his lack of confidence.
Spotting a promising galaxy, he noticed the arms radiated like a picture of the sun drawn on a black canvas. He felt certain that wasn’t the Milky Way, so he skipped it and continued the hunt.
The next galaxy looked promising, but it was smaller than the others around it. Despite this size difference, it was closer to his dim recollections than any of the others he’d seen so far. It would have to do. He focused on the outer rim of the galaxy and made the transition inside.
Revolving around the inner core, he was dumbfounded by the sheer number of objects he would have to search. Undaunted, he chose a direction and transitioned to the inner levels and out again, darting in and out as quickly as he could.
Most objects were quickly discounted if they were in nebulae, had stars that were the wrong color, or had too many stars too close together. Even with this less than perfect filtering, he knew he was taking far too long to cover so little a distance.
With mounting frustration, he calmed himself with the realization that he was just starting, and that it would likely take time. Still, that insurmountable feeling crept back into his awareness. He completed his search and was ready to leave when he stumbled upon a solar system that appeared similar to Earth’s. The sun was the same, though he was amazed at its size compared with the planets. He tried to remember how many planets Earth’s solar system possessed, but his rudimentary science background failed to produce an accurate count.
He tried to remember them by name: Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. Those came easily enough, and he thought he could even remember what they looked like. But the others were fuzzy, maybe Mercury or Venice, he wasn’t sure. In any event, he wouldn’t recognize them anyway.
He turned his attention to the largest planets in the solar system. There were three gas giants, two of them with rings. He wasn’t sure about Jupiter, but he remembered Saturn had rings, so perhaps one of them was Saturn. He most definitely couldn’t remember their order. The other gas giant without rings might have been Jupiter, but he imagined it being brighter with more red. Damn, why didn’t I pay more attention in science! Although he knew why, it didn’t ease his frustration.
The planets matched close enough to his recollections that he began searching for an Earth-like planet. As if answering his prayers, he spotted a tiny planet closer to the sun than the gas giants. It was small, blue, and contained wisps of white clouds. Excitement grew though he quickly suppressed it until he could validate it properly. Better to keep it in check in case it turned out to be an alien world.
He pictured the planet in his awareness and wished himself above it. The transition was quick and smooth, placing him at a spot above the planet’s equator. He surveyed the space around him, noting nothing flashed by in orbit. He believed he should see at least one satellite or some space debris, but the space was vacant.
The planet spun quietly below, large cloud banks skirting the surface with occasional breaks. Through these gaps, ocean blues and browns of land could be seen. It looked like the Earth Tyler remembered, but it appeared too … lifeless. He thought about the space shuttle missions and tried to visualize the view from above. He didn’t necessarily remember it looking alive then, so it was conceivable this was Earth. I could be home! He found it difficult to keep excitement at bay.
He watched for a break in the clouds to spot land. There, slightly above what he thought was the equator, a piece of land appeared. He assumed it was as good a place as any to find people so he transitioned to the brown spot in a blur of light.
As he came out of the transition, he found himself hovering above what looked like an African savannah. The plains were dotted with trees, and every now and again he spotted splashes of blue water. From his vantage, he saw what looked like large herds of animals moving slowly across the plain. Perhaps I’m in Africa? If he could validate that thought, he’d know he’d found home.
He scanned the horizon in all directions but didn’t see signs of civilization. A plume of smoke in the distance brought momentary excitement, but the thrill was quickly replaced with disappointment as he recognized the billowing from the top of a mountain. It was a volcano smoldering before or after an eruption. Damn, nothing but animals. He wanted this to be Earth so bad, but the difficulty in proving he was in Africa brought on a fresh round of depression.
Africa was an enormous continent, so finding civilization was perhaps too optimistic. He decided to keep searching until he could find signs of habitation. After reflecting for a moment, he decided west would most likely yield human habitation. Like America, he assumed people congregated along the coastline, where the oceans provided life. With a sigh of regret, he thought back to California, the beaches, and Linda.
He’d never moved at this level, but figured the mode of transportation must be similar to the other transitions he’d made to get here. He spotted a hillside on the distant horizon and made his move. In an instant he was hovering above the gentle slope, noting it ended in steep cliffs falling off into a deep gorge.
The cavernous gorge stretched far to the north and south, looking like it was carved out of the landscape by a massive earthquake. At the bottom, water cut through the valley fed by myriad waterfalls along the surrounding cliffs. It was a spectacular sight, and Tyler took it in with a newfound sense of wonder. Mist rose from the spray of falling water as millions of gallons poured energy into the river below, cutting the gorge deeper into the earth.
Tyler had never seen anything like it. He remembered the Grand Canyon and its immense beauty, but this was something different entirely. The cliffs and hills surrounding the gorge were adorned with dense vegetation, and above the treetops, large flocks of birds winged their way across the landscape. With the sun setting low on the horizon, the effect was glimmering gold meeting deep greens, speckled with sprays of white.
Breathtaking came to mind. He’d known Earth held such treasures, but the old Tyler never considered such things important. He hovered above it like an unseen ghost, able to visualize the spectacle but unable to hear or touch. He broke from his reverie and focused on his mission to find clues people existed. Scanning the horizon, he came up empty.
He knew he needed to move on, especially with the sun sinking below the horizon. Night would make his search harder, so he picked a distant spot and moved again.
As before, only dense forest filled the vista below him. He transitioned again, and again, and one last time until he found himself at the edge of the continent near an ocean. The water sparkled blue, silver, and orange from the setting sun, and he scanned the coast looking for anything: a boat, a hut, a fire, a city, anything! Nothing.
Hope began to slip away until he spotted a large animal ambling along the beach. He focused on the beast, zooming his awareness to the beach below. Holding his concentration steady, the animal came into focus. It looked similar to a giraffe, but not quite the same. It looked like it had a smaller neck than a giraffe, and there were stripes instead of spots. Tyler was nearly certain giraffes had spots. On its head, two large antlers spread high into the air. It made the animal look like
a deer whose neck was stretched. The animal had no tail, and the color was russet with stripes of black.
Definitely not a giraffe, Tyler decided. Still … he was no expert on African animals, or any animals for that matter. He didn’t even know that much about dogs and cats. This could be something from Africa, or even South America, but he couldn’t be sure.
He watched the animal stop as it became alert. For a brief moment, Tyler thought the animal had somehow detected him, but he brushed that notion aside as the unusual animal sniffed the air, scanning cautiously. It stood frozen for a long time, and Tyler was ready to leave. As sudden as it stopped, it began moving up the beach. Whatever had spooked it did not pose a threat.
Tyler laughed at the thought of it detecting him. He was certain that was impossible. The animal moved close to the water when a large flash of yellow sprang from the trees tackling the animal in an explosion of dirt and water. The predator’s size was twice that of the animal it had trapped beneath its claws. Lean muscles rippled across the short broad body covered in a thick, yellow fur. Along its spine, a dark spike of hair ran down the length of the animals back, tapering near its rear. The animal lay atop its prey, mouth around the neck cutting off the much needed air of the dying animal. Within moments, the twitching ceased.
Tyler was stunned and fascinated by the violent kill he’d just witnessed. The predator looked similar to a predatory cat, but it had no tail, and very large ears. The enormous paws were adorned with scythe-like claws that sunk deep into the lifeless body. It was hard for Tyler to gauge its true size, but judging from the trees nearby, he guessed it to be nearly twenty feet at the shoulders, and at least the same in length. Tyler knew it was not from Earth, at least not the Earth he knew. Maybe this was something from Earth’s past, or future? Tyler didn’t like that thought.
He let his focus drift from the animals and hovered once more above the beach as the sun sank below the distant waves. The realization he wasn’t on Earth, or at least not the Earth he’d left, brought on a sad melancholy. When the sun finally set, Tyler stared into the darkness at a sea of stars reflecting off the water. Despair threatened to overwhelm him. So many stars … so many planets. He sobbed from the thought of his fruitless efforts.
He left the beach to orbit above the blue white orb. The dark side of the planet moved silently below, volcanic eruptions spewed orange-red worms across its surface. No lights, no cities, no people. This wasn’t Earth. He looked at the space around him and noticed for the first time the planet didn’t have a moon. This was a clear sign it wasn’t Earth, but he’d never thought to check before going to the surface.
He tried to find a bright spot to his search. He’d seen interesting things, and that wasn’t without merit. The memory of the misty gorge and the brutal animal attack was something he’d never forget. It had looked so much like Earth, he wondered how many of these false worlds he would have to sift through before finding home. He feared the number was beyond measure.
He said goodbye to the primitive world and returned to his search of the galaxy. At least he had more to filter with.
A moon. I should have looked for a moon! The thought stung as he realized how little he knew about the Universe or his own world. When you lived there, it was easy to take it for granted. He made a mental shrug before leaping to another system.
